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Church media discriminated against journalist over political, trade union affiliation
Former acting editor files complaint in industrial tribunal.
11 October 2011, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
1 min read
The former acting editor of Church radio RTK has filed a protest in the industrial tribunal against her employers, over unfair and discriminatory treatment during a selection process to be appointed editor.
Sabrina Agius responded to an internal call for applications for editor of RTK and Gensillum online but was not picked for the role. The position was later advertised in an external call for applications, leading to the engagement of former Net News journalist Josianne Camilleri as the new head of news.
Agius served as acting head of news throughout the year after the departure of Leonard Callus. In her protest, she claimed she was subjected to discriminatory treatment throughout the selection process, and other incidents of bullying, intimidation and harassment from her superiors “intended to make her resign”.
Agius, who is currently still in active employment with RTK, said she resisted these attempts to make her resign.
“It clearly emerged that the company acted differently with Agius over what it considered was her political opinion, and her affiliation in a trade union,” General Workers Union lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici wrote in the protest.
Agius is asking for financial compensation and the removal of the discriminatory actions against her.
The Church’s media arm is the company Media Centre, whose directors are Curia spokesperson Kevin Papagiorcopulo, lawyer Robert Tufigno, and business advisor Franco Azzopardi.
Both Papagiorcopulo and Tufigno were major protagonists in the anti-divorce movement during the divorce referendum campaign
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
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The Church’s media arm is the company Media Centre, whose directors are Curia spokesperson Kevin Papagiorcopulo, lawyer Robert Tufigno, and business advisor Franco Azzopardi
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I am sure if Christ had to come today he would appoint these three saintly men as His apostles.
They really know how to render that which is Ceasur's unto Ceasur.
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Challenge them.
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They have always been a PN nest, in Maltese bejta nazzjonalista.
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Everything is being planned bizzilla to have PN supporters in all strategic positions to subvert public opinion in favour of the PN to lessen the great impact that they know is coming to kick the PN out of power.
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No wonder the Church has seen thousands of its sheeple leave and thousands more will do so because it has always been in favour of the PN and against the lower classes and those who defend them.
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There was Manwel Dimech, Sir Gerald Strickland, Dr Boffa, Dom Mintoff, Dr Larmenu Mifsud Bonnici, Dr Alfred Sant and now they are also against Dr Joseph Muscat.
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They have all been attacked mercilessly and character assassinated by the PN and their reactionary forces at the Curia who always used and still use the Church as a political weapon.
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They have always used tal-Mużew, ta' l-Azzjoni, Żgħażagħ Ħaddiema Nsara and all other groupings to undermine the lower classes and their defenders, both political and industrial like they did under the Umbrella in Raħal Ġdid in the 1960's.
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Even Dr Herbert Ganado who led the Partit Demokratiku Nazzjonalista wrote in his memoirs how the PN under Borg Olivier undermined the other parties with the help of the Church.
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Continue like this Malta Church and the sheeple will leave you by the droves as they have been doing.
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A perfect example of how the PN uses the Church and how it always bends backwards to help the PN is the granting of THREE marriage annulments to EFA's children in a very short time and two of them to one person while others have to wait for up to 10 years if they get it at all.
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This is the discrimination that those in the Church elite practice in Malta to help their PN.
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You are already feeling the pijnch and you shall feel it more the more you interfere in politics.
Igor P. Shuvalov •
Of course RTK needed an impartial journalist to lead their newsroom and individuals affiliated to the GWU wouldn't do, so of course RTK directors had to look elsewhere to satisfy this criteria...and they were very lucky to have somebody who fitted their criteria applying for the job.
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I congratulate Ms Agius. It takes guts to take on the church. Still its nothing new, we all know that the church and the PN one and the same thing what do you expect a left leaning editor of RTK? It will happen when pigs start to fly.
I wish Ms. Agius all the best in her battle against the holy dowager.
